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Lyssea

Ask Lyssea - The Old and the Innocent ( Part 2 )

“Oh, yes! I’m Apple Branch!” The old stallion suddenly exclaimed, looking back at his guest as he said so, before he looked back in front of him, clearly not expecting an answer - she did have a book in her mouth after all, being happy enough with a nod from her.
A few more steps before he turned around and pointed at a door with his hoof, giving her a smile “This is Wild’s room, you can borrow it for a few days… and I suspect you won’t be staying for longer then that, will you?”
She looked at him but said nothing, instead reaching up with her hoof and pushing the door open. On the other side was a simple room; a bed, a few boxes with things, papers and a set of clothes over at a corner. Stepping further inside revealed nothing but a fading smell of the owner of the room, a dark, strange scent.
“Sleep well, Lyssea” Branch spoke the words and then closed the door behind her, leaving her alone in the room. She glanced around once more, then moved over to the unmade bed and dropped the book on top of it, as not to have to drag it around as she briefly gave things a closer look.
She found nothing new, only that the papers were newsclips from different contests. It was not before she accidentally looked up at the roof that she found something she hadn’t expected - a large poster of an… Oh. Ooooh! Well, she shrugged her shoulders somewhat, at least he had good taste.
She stepped back to the bed and climbed up on it, shifting somewhat until she got comfortable, and then reached out her hoof to turn the book. The warm book. That was quick.
She opened it, and she saw a new question at the bottom of the page, written with the same kind of text as any of the other questions, although unlike the others, this one lacked a signature.

“What is your cutie mark, and what does it represent?”

She read the question, feeling confused. She had no idea what this was supposed to mean, it was like the question about Equestria. After all, how was she to know what a cutie mar-Right.
Lyssea dropped her head, pressing her forehead against the pages and her muzzle into the sheets. Cutie mark. The thing on her flank. If she got any more stupid she’d forget how to walk… no, wait, she’d already done that. A quiet groan escaped her, this was just pathetic.
After a few moments she lifted her head again and twisted her body slightly, looking down at her flank and the mark on it. The first part of the question would be easy enough to answer, she’d just need to look at her own body if she forgot, but the second part would be toughter. She had no idea what the mark represented, or even if it represented anything at all.
Shaking her head she fumbled for the pen from the spine of the book, somewhat hindered from lying down like this. But, after a short, shameful battle she managed to free the pen, moving it down to the space beneath the question, and then hesitated. What was she going to write?
She waited for a moment, then shrugged slightly, also that with some difficulty. There was little she could do but to answer honestly - lies would give her nothing. She moved the tip of the pen to the paper and began to write the answer.

“A helmet. Unknown representation.”

She eyed the answer for a moment, then made a faint shrug. Nothing else to add. She moved the pen away, and flipped the page over, to see if there was anything on the other side, now when she had reached the end of the page. There was.

“Your location. I require a high knowledge of where it is. We have a lot to talk about…
-askdeceit”

If the former message by askdeceit had rung a little bell of warning in her mind, this one set of bells the size of the building she was currently in. This was not good, not good at all. Or was it?
If he, it, was asking, did it mean that he already knew, and that he was now testing her honesty… or did it mean that he didn’t know?
If it was a test then honesty would be the best, showing that she did not suspect the enemy for what it was. If it was a real question a lie would save her.
She hesitated for a long time, thinking of her options, thoughts racing back and forth in her head like herd of rabbits. In the end, however, she managed to settle for a choice. If it already knew where she was, and was watching her, then it would find out, one way or another. if it didn’t, then a sidetrack would certainly be the best. The risk was worth taking.
She moved the pen to the paper, hesitated for a few moments, and then wrote her answer with careful writing.

“I do not know. Walked among trees until I tired.”

She watched the answer for a moment, then took a deep breath and closed the book. It was done. If she was lucky, this would throw the pony off her track, at least for a while.
Should she run? The thought flashed through her mind, but she dismissed it. The situation had not changed, this was still the best place she could be for now - or at least the best choice of the two she got. However, it did raise the question if she could tell the ponies she was living with.
Her first instinct was no, she didn’t want to tell them, didn’t want to open up and give then a soft spot to hit. But that would be a weakness in itself if she did not tell, if she could easily be found to have lied, even by omission, about something so vital allies could easily turn into enemies.
She thought about it, then let out a quiet sigh. If they asked, she would tell. If they didn’t, all was safe. With that she pushed the book to the top of her newly claimed bed and closed her eyes.
Within minutes she was asleep.